A local schoolgirl will take to the pitch at Crawley Town this weekend (30/4) to receive her prize for designing a bespoke version of the League Two club’s home kit.
Esmay Sprules was one of 1,200 local children who were invited to enter the Design a Shirt competition, organised by the club’s principle sponsor The People’s Pension. Judges were particularly impressed with the entry from the Year One pupil from St Andrew’s CofE Primary School, which she based on the landmark giant red and white football on the roundabout outside of The People’s Pension Stadium, home of Crawley Town.
On Saturday, several Red Devils’ first team players will take to the pitch before the final home game of the season against Leyton Orient to present Esmay with her prize –a specially commissioned shirt of her design. Runners up, Davis Daniel and Anya Guidera, both Year One pupils at Our Queen Lady Of Heaven Primary School, will receive tickets to a home game of their choice, plus vouchers for the club shop.
The design contest was part of the Shirts 4 School scheme, which has run for four years with more than 4,000 red tops being given to local four to six-year-old children at schools across Crawley, from The People’s Pension.
Stella Beale, group director of marketing at B&CE, provider of The People’s Pension, said:
“We have been incredibly impressed by all the entries to our Design a Shirt competition, but Esmay’s really stood out. Being able to run the hugely popular Shirts 4 Schools initiative over the past four years has been a genuine privilege of ours and it is made even more worthwhile by seeing the community’s children join in, like they have with this competition.”
Alex Watts, revenue manager and supporter liaison officer at Crawley Town, said:
“Esmay’s design is a well-deserved winner. The clever use of the large football outside of The People’s Pension Stadium highlights a landmark that is heavily associated when people think of Crawley Town FC. As a club we’re delighted to have worked with our principal sponsor The People’s Pension on the Shirts 4 Schools initiative over the past four years. This initiative has been crucial in ensuring young people engage with the club to generate lifelong fans and make football more accessible for families across the entire community.”
